Austria intends to relax coronavirus limitations in February, following the implementation of the country’s national vaccine mandate, the first of its type in Europe, on Tuesday.
Restaurants will be allowed to be open until midnight, rather than 10 p.m., beginning on February 5, Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced at a press conference on Saturday.
Furthermore, rules effectively prohibiting unvaccinated people from entering stores and restaurants will be phased away. Beginning on February 12, no proof of vaccination or recovery will be required to enter stores. A week later, on February 19, anyone who can show proof of vaccination, recuperation or a negative coronavirus test will be allowed into eateries.
Last week, Nehammer announced that the lockdown limitations for vaccinated people, which have been in effect since November, will be lifted on Monday.
The announcement on Saturday comes despite recent record-high new infection numbers, which have been fueled by the omicron variety. Austria recorded 34,748 new cases on Friday. As of Thursday, the Alpine nation’s 7-day infection rate was 2,381.2 per 100,000 residents, over ten times higher than the rate at the start of January.
Nonetheless, Nehammer believes that the low number of individuals now hospitalised with the virus suggests that additional steps toward normalcy are conceivable. Austrian officials predict that the omicron wave will peak in the first week of February.
During the pandemic, nearly 14,000 people in Austria died as a result of the virus.
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